(Motorsport-Total.com) – Audi experienced another disappointing weekend at the Miami Grand Prix (full race report): fire on both cars, another non-start, as well as a disqualification in the sprint on Saturday, and finally an early retirement of Nico Hülkenberg in the race on Sunday.
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“I don’t know what happened currently. The guys will of course look into it and analyze it now,” the German appeared puzzled in conversation with Sky. It was “overall a character-building weekend for us,” because “we had many issues.”
There is still a lot to do, although the weekend “also revealed a few positive things,” says Hülkenberg, who at the same time lets gentle criticism come through: “I think our pace is not so bad, but we also have to somehow implement it, put it on the asphalt, see the flag and bring the cars through.”
“But we keep at it, we keep our heads up and don’t let ourselves be beaten.” After a strong start to the season, when Gabriel Bortoleto was able to score the first points for Audi right away, the Ingolstadt team has since been fighting for further championship points. Hülkenberg is still without points after four races.
Timo Glock: “Error rate must come down significantly”
“Nico Hülkenberg can’t be happy,” says Sky expert Timo Glock, “and neither can Audi given the performance over this weekend and the many technical problems. Since the start of the season, there have been three race starts where, so to speak, a car was missing – for technical reasons.”
“You have to sit down now and do your homework, you simply can’t afford that. Sure, it’s the first year, you can’t forget that, but still: The error rate must come down significantly, and the team has to work on its side.”
“Starts are an area where Audi needs to work,” Glock adds. “But overall, the error rate over the weekend is simply too high. That repeatedly puts drivers and the engineering team at a disadvantage because no real rhythm can develop when you are constantly held back by technical problems.”
Allan McNish demands: “We need reliability”
Race director Allan McNish, who works alongside project leader Mattia Binotto, also recognizes the opportunities. “Our priority now is to consistently convert this potential into results,” says the Scot. “We will use the insights from this weekend, use the break to recover, and be ready in Montreal to make the most of our chance.”
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The biggest Audi problem: “We need reliability,” emphasizes McNish. “Then we can also start development in other areas. We can improve. Of course, it’s frustrating not to have two cars at the start [on Saturday].”
“And especially considering our performance, that is, the underlying factors. That is definitely an area we clearly need to focus on. We have to work on that.” However, Audi has been struggling with reliability since the start of the season and has apparently made little progress so far.
“But I think if you look around, many engine manufacturers still have problems. That doesn’t only affect us.” The Audi race director, for example, recalls Mercedes, who currently still have major problems at the start and regularly fall behind the competition there.
Audi still has to learn and “improve”
“So I think there are many areas that everyone tries to manage and control and learn from,” says McNish. “And the more we learn, the better – and we learn significantly more than some others because they already understand the system 75 percent.”
“We definitely have to improve these things. There is no doubt about that.” The disqualification of Gabriel Bortoleto in the sprint was “obviously not performance-enhancing,” admits the Audi official, who acknowledges a mistake. “That’s how the rules are.”
“We have to improve there,” demands McNish, who sets a clear direction for Audi for the upcoming race in Canada (May 24): “That is a clear focus for us, and it is also an important learning experience for a new deployment.”
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